Warburtons now second biggest UK brand

Warburtons, the fifth-generation family baker from Bolton, has become the UK's second biggest grocery brand, pipped only by the mighty Coca-Cola. It has overtaken household names such as Nescafé, Persil, Cadbury's Dairy Milk and Walkers crisps by racking up sales of £514m last year.

The elevation of the brand into second position on supermarket shelves, according to research by AC Nielsen, caps a fantastic year for the Warburton family, who own all of the company.

The three cousins - Brett, Jonathan and Ross - took over the business in the early 1990s and began transforming a mini conglomerate based in Lancashire into a national bread business. In the past 12 months, the company has secured national distribution with J Sainsbury and Tesco, taking them into Cornwall and other parts of the south for the first time.

Jonathan, the chairman, said yesterday that he was "delighted" but added "our job is not yet done and we will be continuing to drive this business forward".

The company has invested heavily in new bakeries and distribution - a strategy that was only possible thanks to the family ownership, according to food analyst Julian Lakin, at Mirabaud Securities. "They haven't spent the whole time looking over their shoulders at what shareholders want," he said.

In the past decade, Warburtons' rise has coincided with consumers' desire for healthier, better quality products.